Wheel for vehicles.



W. DALTON.

WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 1912.

INVENTOR Patented Oct. 1 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

\ww Q d T Q udiT MM SQ od FT W. DALTON.

WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 12, 1912.

Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR WI/IIIIIIII/I IIVIIIIIII W ILLIAIWE DALTON, 0F SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK;

WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 12,1912. Serial No. 703,110.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WiLLrAM DALTON, of Schenectady, in the county of- Schenectady and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in VVheelsfor Vehicles, of which improvement the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wheels for road vehicles, and more particularly to those used in automobile trucks, and its object is to provide a wheel of such class which shall be of simple, strong, and inexpensive construction, and in'the "operation'of which, the injurious effects of jars and shocks shall be minimized by the transmission of the power by which the rotation of'the wheel is effected, from the location ofits application, to the contact surface ofthe wheel with the roadway, through the intermediation of directly and positively acting elastic driving members.

The'improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a rear view, partly in elevation, and partly in transverse section, on the line a a of Fig. 2, of about one fourth part of avehicle wheel embodying my invention; Fig. 2,' a longitudinal section through the same, on the line b b of Fig. 1; Fig. 3. a view of the same character as Fig. 1, the upper portion being in section on the line .0 c of Fig. 2, and the lower portion on the line at d of the same figure; Fig. 4, a development or section on the curved linef f of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a partial longitudinal section on the line 6 e of Fig. 1;.Fig. 6, a partial section on the line 9 g of Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 a section, on an enlarged scale, on the line it h .of Fig. 1.

the practice of my invention, I provide a hub, '2,'of metal, which is formed integral with the rear section, 14, of a rim, to which it'is connected by a plurality of spokes, 15, of U form, in transverse section.- The rim comprisesthe rear section, 14, which, in this instance, is illustrated as hollow or cellular, and a front section, 7, which'is also shown hollow or cellular, and is secured to the rear section 'by a plurality of clamping bolts, 6, set parallelwith the axial line of the wheel. The hollow form of the rim sections is not, however, an essential of my invention. A dowel, 16, is fitted in recesses in the adjoining portions of the front and rear sections, to prevent independent circum-- ferential movement thereof, and relieve strain on the'clampi-ng bolts. A pair of:

tires, 11, 11,is fitted around the rim section,

in the space between their outwardly proj ecting side portions, said tires being readily detachable and replaceable, as desired, by

Patented Oct. 1, 1912..

the removal and replacement of the front rim section, 7. 7 ,Al rearwardly extending conical flange, 1, is shown as formed on the hub, 2, said flange having a plurality of radial ribs, 13, on its inner side, and supporting a gear and brake drum, 3, which is secured to it, adjoining'its periphery, by bolts, 3, and nuts, 3*. Ribs or bridges, 12, are Ca$t in the spokes, 15, and form, in connection with curved bridges, 12, extending between the spokes, a continuous annular plate extending around the periph- -.ery 'of the conical flange, 1. Said flange con- -stitutes a rear extension or enlargement of the hub, and while, structurally, it is desirably applicable in connection with my present invention, it does not, in and of itself,

constitute a part thereof, and is not herein {claimed as such. I i A spur or sprocket driving'gear, 4, to which rotation is imparted from the motor of the vehicle, through a driving chain, in, the ordinary manner. is formed or fixed on' 85 'cumferential movement, on the drum, 3, but is prevented from movingendwise thereon by being located between an annular flange,

a drum, 4, which is fitted freely, as to cir- 3, onthe drum, and therim of the conical flange, 1. A plurality of substantially radially extending springs, 17, of plate, form, is.

located in rear of and adjacent to the spokes, 15. The springs, 17, are preferably disposed in sets of two or more, each set being oppo- .site the rear side of one of the spokes, and

three springs being shown, in this instance, in each set. The outer ends of the springs engage the rear rim section, being fitted 1n socketed seats, 14 thereon, and their inner ends engage the. hub, 2, being fitted 1n socketed seats, 2, thereon. ,The endsofthe springs of each set, or of the two outer ones thereof, when three springs are used in a set, are flexed or bentoutwardly, 'so as to normally bear on the adjacent sides of the seats acted on by the driving gear.

Rotation is elastically transmitted from in order to prevent rattling when not the driving gear, 4. to the wheel, through the springs 17, which are engaged by the drum, 4, o the driving gear, sald drum being recessed, at its inner end, to receive a of the springs, about midway between their ends. The inner end of the brake drum, 3,

which, as before explained, is fixed to the,

hub, is recessed correspondingly with the drum, 4, of the driving gear, the recesses of the drum, 3, being, however, of greater width, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, in order to permit free bending movement of the springs when subjected to the action of the rotative movement of the driving gear. a a

It will be seen that under a construction substantially asherein set forth, as elastic transmission of driving power is imparted to the wheel, with acorresponding reduction of the injurious effects of jars and shocks, and that the relation and connection of the operative members are such as'to insure their positive action and enable them to be readily assembled and detached as may be required by the conditions of service. e

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

' 1. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a loosely mounted driving gear, and a plurality'of radially disposed sprlngs having end engagement with the' hub and rimand intermediate engagement with the driving gear, to. efiect an elastic transmission of power from the driving gear to the wheel.

2. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a loosely mounted driving gear, a plurality of radially disposed springs connected at their ends to the hub and rim of the wheel, and connections coupling the driving gear to the springs intermediate of their ends.

3. I11 a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub,a rim, a driving gear mounted loosely on an extension of the hub, a plurality of socketed seats on the hub and rim, and a plurality of radially disposed plate springs engaging said seats at their ends, and engaging with the driving gear intermediate of their ends.

. 4. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a drum fixed to and constituting an extension of the hub, a driving gear drum carrying a driving gear and mounted loosely on the hub drum, a plurality of radially disposed springs connected at their ends to the hub and rim, and connections coupling said springs, intermediate of their ends, to the driving gear drum.

5. Ina vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a drum fixed to and constituting an extension of the hub, a driving gear drum carrying a driving gear and mounted loosely on the hub drum, a plurality of radially disposed plate springs connected at their ends to the hub and rim, and bands fitting said springs intermediate of their ends and engaging recesses in the adjacent end of the driving gear drum.

6. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a drum-fixed to and constituting an extension of the hub and havin eripheral recesses at one of its ends, a drlvmg gear drum mounted loosely'on the hub drum, and having peripheral recesses adjoining those of the hub drum and of less width than the latter, a driving gear fixed to the driving gear drum, a plurality of radially disposed plate springs connected at their ends to the hub and rim, and bands fitting engaging the recesses of the driving gear drum.

7. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, spokes connecting the hub and rim, a driving gear mounted. loosely on an extension of the hub; and a plurality of plate springs extending between the hub and rim, parallel with and closely in rear of the spokes, said springs engaging the hub and rim at their ends, and engaging the driving gear intermediate of their ends.

8. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a driving gear mounted loosely on an extensionof the hub, socketed seats disposed in line radially on the hub and rim, a plurality of sets of plate 5 rings, the springs of each set engaging sai seats at their ends, and connect-ions, each cou ling a set of springs intermediate of its ends, to the driving gear.

9. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a hub, a rim, a driving wheel mounted loosely on an extension of the hub, socketed seats disposed in line radiall on the hub and rim, a plurality of sets 0 two or more plate springs engaging said seats at their ends, the outer sprin of each set being flexed or bent outwar ly into contact with the sides of the seats, and connections, each coupling a set of springs, intermediate of its ends, to the driving gear.

WILLIAM DALTON. Witnesses:

WILL W. HAMBLY, E. l. Scnaunan.

said springs intermediate of their ends and 

